Bad Boys Have Nightmares Too
by appleslovetea
Summary: It's been a few weeks since Aaron's attack at Asami's penthouse. With the threat of another attack gone, Akihito and Asami have returned home. But is everything really ok?
Ever since the attack at the penthouse took place, Asami became an involuntary light sleeper.

Even though Aaron and his men had long ago been made to face the consequences of their actions, the slightest noise heard within the apartment was at present all it took to snap Asami wide awake and make his hand instinctively reach under his pillow for the gun he now kept there.

The business man kept his eyes closed, feigning sleep, as the sound of quiet footsteps got closer and closer to him.

Someone was definitely in the room with him and at the realization of the fact, Asami felt his fingers curl around the grip of the weapon tightly.

Before he had the chance to remove the gun from its hiding place though, the intruder spoke.

"…Asami?" A male voice called out timidly.

The business man recognized it instantly; his hand releasing the hold on the weapon as he finally opened his eyes.

Akihito was standing by the edge of the bed, clad in boxers and a tank top (his usual choice for pajamas); a somber look clouding his features.

The photographer seemed to be avoiding Asami's direct gaze, otherwise he wouldn't have failed to notice the inquisitive stare the older man was bestowing on him at the time.

A moment of silence ensued while Akihito appeared to choose his next words carefully.

"I…I…" He finally started, noticeably blushing despite the darkness in the room.

"I…Hm..."

Asami came to his aid. "Can't sleep?" The older man asked, slowly sitting up in bed as he tried to push back his own drowsiness.

He saw Akihito shaking his head; the blush tinting the young man's cheeks deepening ever so slightly. He still wouldn't look Asami in the eyes.

"…Did you have another nightmare?"

The question was unexpected, but when the business man saw Akihito's eyes widening he knew he had hit the jackpot.

The photographer pulled a hand through his hair; a casual act, were it not for the fact that his hand was visibly trembling.

"Y-Yeah." Akihito admitted through a forced chuckle, evidently trying to dismiss the relevance of the older man's question. "I seem to be having a lot of them lately, don't I?"

He did. On more than a few nights he'd even woken up screaming due to his vivid nightmares.

Akihito stared at the floor, trying hard to fake a smile. "This one was pretty bad though…" He mumbled.

He half expected for the business man to query him on it, like he had done on previous nights, when the photographer had woken him up with his screams, but this time nothing of the sort happened.

For a few seconds all was quiet, but then Akihito heard the sound of bed sheets being shuffled around and when he finally looked up from the floor he found that Asami was making room for him on the bed.

"You can sleep on this side." Asami said, placing one of the unused bed pillows on the right side of the bed.

Relieved, yet at the same time feeling embarrassed with himself, the photographer mumbled a shy 'thank you' and quickly crawled into the king size bed, his back facing the older man as he lay down beside him.

"You're shaking." Asami noted soon afterwards.

"…I'm cold."

Akihito heard Asami sighing quietly, as if unconvinced by the retort, but before he had a chance to add anything else, the older man pulled the heavy comforter all the way up to the photographer's shoulders and Akihito soon felt Asami laying back down in bed, facing his back.

A couple of minutes passed in silence, even though it was more than obvious none of them was attempting to fall back to sleep just yet.

"You're still shakin-"

"I'll be fine!" Akihito snapped without wishing to, only to lower his voice the next second. "…Just give me a few minutes, will you?"

Unexpectedly, the young man felt Asami's arm curl around his stomach, pulling him towards the older man's bare chest, so that they ended up practically spooning each other.

The photographer could feel Asami's breath tickling the back of his neck and realized with surprise that his shivering was rapidly subsiding.

"Was the nightmare that bad?"

The young man gulped. There was no point in lying.

"…They shot you point blank in the chest this time." He replied in a low voice, not needing to explain who 'they' were. "They shot you right in front of me…And I couldn't do a thing about it…"

Akihito stopped then, lest his voice would fail him and he'd end up embarrassing himself even more than he had already that night.

Asami's lips brushed against the back of his shoulder. "Nightmares can't hurt you, you know that."

"I know…" Akihito whispered, burying his face on his pillow. "But it felt so real…"

Asami's hand slowly pushed his body around so that Akihito was lying on his back.

The older man propped himself up on one elbow, and with his thumb gently whipped away a treacherous tear that had escaped the young man's eye.

"Aaron and his men are dead, Akihito. They can't harm any of us anymore."

Asami knew very well what the silent stare that the young man gave him withheld. There would always be another "Aaron" around waiting to get back at Asami Ryuichi for one reason or another. It was just a matter of time before someone else attempted against his life.

The older man cupped Akihito's chin in his hand, coaching the photographer to look directly into his eyes. "I promise you will _never_ have to go through a situation like that again." He said with deadly resolve. "Now go to sleep… You're safe here with me." He added, and bent down to seal his promise with a kiss.

Feeling safe and protected in the warm embrace of the older man's arms, Akihito indeed soon drifted into a dreamless sleep, but the same could not be said of Asami.

For the ruthless business man would never admit out loud that he too had been plagued by nightmares concerning that faithful night.

It wasn't the threat of another potential assault against his home and his life that made him often wake up drenched in sweat though.

It was the subconscious notion of what _could_ have happened that night...

It was the sound of Aaron's gun being shot on the rooftop of the building. It was the shocking realization that the gunshot had not been meant for Asami, but for the young man that was desperately climbing the stairs towards the safety of the helicopter. It was the sound of a body collapsing on the helipad's metal platform. It was his voice calling out to Akihito. It was the agonizing silence that _could_ have greeted him in return…


End file.
